Fred Koehler

A lifelong entrepreneur and artist, Fred built his agency as a way to tell the stories of his clients. Last year was the most successful year for the agency and Fred is excited to take the Fred Group to the next level by giving young artists the opportunity to gain experience through full-time jobs and working with large brands.

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur? Grocery money! I was offered the choice between buying out the division of the company I worked for or being downsized.

Goals: I want this company to provide more jobs for disciplined designers in our community. To be able to do that, we need to make connections with creative studios who need helping hands.Hardest thing about starting your business? That first full-time employee. A lot of entrepreneurs are happy to risk their own security, but you think long and hard before you commit to being responsible for someone else’s livelihood.

Three wishes: Wisdom, relationships, and opportunity.

Why Lakeland? The entire newspaper is not big enough to list all of the reasons!

What is Lakeland missing? I love to see when communities support individual artists as well as “the arts.” I think we invest heavily in the arts and would love to see our community invest also in artists.

Favorite things to do in Lakeland? Ride my bicycle or motorcycle, drink coffee downtown while I draw, and throw coins in the Munn Park wishing fountain with my kids.How has Catapult helped you? Three big ways. First, Catapult helped us look legit with office space and conference rooms. Second, we have made lots of great friends and collaborators. Third, the unlimited supply of coffee and bananas (which is the secret fuel of entrepreneurs everywhere).